WINCHESTER, Va. – Sixth-seeded Shenandoah University punched its ticket to Salem with a 69-64 ODAC Tournament opening round victory over No. 11 Hollins Monday evening.

Shenandoah (12-14) moves on to the women's tournament quarterfinals, where it will face No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan in the 8:00 game Thursday evening.

The two teams traded the lead four times in the early going of Monday's contest before sophomore Gabrielle Clarke gave the hosts the lead for good with a layup at the 13:22 mark.

Clarke's bucket, one of six she had on the evening, started a 15-5 run over a span of 4:12 that pushed the SU lead out to nine points with 9:10 remaining in the first.

Hollins (9-17) answered with a 6-0 run of its own to stay in the contest, but the Hornets never surrendered the lead.

Shenandoah took a 31-28 advantage into the break, extended the lead out to eight points by 13:04 and then to a game-high 11 with 2:50 remaining following a Holly Chittenden free throw.

HU refused to fold its tents, however, and scored nine of the game's next 11 points to cut the deficit to just four in the final 17 seconds.

SU then clinched the contest with a Nicole Gilbertson block and defensive rebound before she canned one of two from the line to provide the final margin of victory.

Chittenden had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the victors with Crystal Petrus adding 16 points and Clarke 14.

Jasmine Greene, the league's leading scorer, had a game-high 24 for Hollins.

ODAC Tournament passes will be available in the SU Athletics office tomorrow morning – passes are $20 per ticket and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Single game tickets are $10 and can only be purchased at the Salem Civic Center box office.

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